Paradigm Shift
by owlofathena
Summary: Hermione Granger sets out to make things right in the wizarding world after graduation, starting with the Ministry of Magic. Minerva/Hermione romance in further chapters.


_Notes at the bottom._

* * *

 _July 1999_

Hermione receives her N.E.W.T scores while she is staying with her parents. She sends off her application by owl to the Ministry of Magic an hour later. There's no sense in wasting any time after all.

'I'm going to work at the Ministry of Magic for a bit,' she tells her parents when they sit down for tea.

'That's nice,' her mother says encouragingly, looking up from her gardening magazine as Hermione's father sets down the teapot on the sitting room table. 'I'm sure you'll do great things there.'

'Show them a Muggle thing or two, Hermione, sounds like they need a revamp,' her father says as he sits down on the couch cushion and holds out a plate. 'Sandwiches, anyone?'

* * *

The scheduled interview is on a wet Tuesday afternoon, in a small office on the fourth floor of the Ministry of Magic. The single charmed window shows a softly-lit scene of mountains and fresh ski tracks in the snow. There is a large Philodendron sitting in one corner, and a smaller one on a nearby bookshelf.

Hermione's interviewer is a middle-aged, dark-skinned witch wearing royal blue summer robes. It's obvious she's struggling to keep the perplexed expression off her face.

'Why is it that you wish to work at the Being Division, Miss Granger? Not that I wish to discourage you but generally those graduates with achievements such as yours pursue more…' the witch pauses, considering her words carefully, '... _prestigious_ roles than the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.'

Dorothy Boateng is at a genuine loss as to why the girl is seeking work at her department. Hermione Granger could likely apply to any middle-level job in the Ministry and get it in a heartbeat.

Across the desk, Hermione's expression is attentive. She's wearing a lovely set of linen robes over a knee-length skirt and has a small leather satchel on her lap.

'I have a keen interest in acting as an intermediary between witches and wizards and those the Ministry has deemed to be Magical Creatures. I believe my talents would be best applied to the department that has control over those laws.'

Dorothy glances down at the small pile of papers that she collected prior to the interview. On the very top is a newspaper clipping showing a photo of Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and the youngest Weasley boy riding a massive white dragon out of the rubble of Gringotts. Underneath this is the certified copy scroll with nine 'Outstanding' N.E.W.T. scores on it. Below that is the two-year-old Ministry reward poster for any information leading to the capture of Hermione Granger. At the bottom of the pile is a personal letter of recommendation from the Headmistress of Hogwarts that came with Hermione's application.

'Was there a division in the Department you were specifically interested in joining?' Dorothy finally asks, her dark eyebrows raised as she looks back up at the young woman.

Hermione smiles suddenly. 'House elves are a particular passion of mine,' she offers. 'I believe you have a section of the department that is dedicated to them?'

 _Well_ , Dorothy reasons, _Gerald Van Dijk_ _isn't going to know what hit him_. The present stick-in-the-mud lead in the House Elf Division certainly needs a sharp shock.

'Well then,' she says with a smile, standing up and reaching across the desk to shake Hermione's hand, 'Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, Miss Granger. Let me show you to your desk.'

* * *

One year is enough for Hermione to ascend to the position of Assistant Head of the newly named Department of Magical Creatures. The change is the work of a carefully crafted (and impossible to track back to Hermione) public campaign through the Daily Prophet that the Ministry allows as a concession to improving public relations.

It is another three years before Hermione has done all she can do in her present role. She puts in a request for transfer to the Ministry of Law Enforcement. The glowing reference from Dorothy Boateng, the famously exacting head of the Department of Magical Creatures, is enough to land her a headship of the Wizengamot Administration Office on entry.

'I've always been interested in Wizarding Law,' she tells her new team when she arrives for orientation to the department. 'I find the Wizengamot structure fascinating, and I want to make it as effective as possible. Now, I believe that the court meets tomorrow morning?'

* * *

Hermione sits in on every Wizengamot meeting and trial for next two years. She watches each case carefully and makes detailed notes on each of the fifty members. It quickly becomes apparent that the council is woefully inadequate when viewed through any modern legal system.

Most members of the Wizengamot do not read beyond the first couple of pages of any submission from the Ministry and vote with the majority, assuming that the rest have done the legwork. Moreover, there are enough petty disagreements between members that voting can come down to being on the opposing side to perceived enemies. There is also disappointing lack of debate on contentious issues - the main goal of most court sessions appears to be to get things over and done with and move on to the next task at hand.

The Wizengamot Charter of Rights is useless in defending the innocent. There is no established practice of providing a defense council to speak on behalf of the defendant who has not brought their own, leading to frightful injustices with those who do not have an understanding of the convoluted and occasionally bizarre laws that persist in the magical world.

Worse again is that the court is susceptible to significant bias and discrimination. Any attempts at impartiality are ignored. Muggles are still regarded as little more than children. New members of the Wizengamot are appointed by the current Minister rather than elected. The youngest member is 46 years old. Only three are muggle-born.

'It's dreadful,' Hermione tells Ginny Weasley over Indian take-out one afternoon. They're sitting on a bench in Hyde Park - Ginny is heavily pregnant. 'How can you run a society like this? It's like the Ministry never learned anything from the war!'

Hermione's food is in danger - it is precariously balanced on her knees, and her indignant arm waving risk upsetting the container. Ginny steadies it with an outstretched hand.

'It's hard to pull wizards and witches away from tradition,' she offers.

'It is _wrong_ ,' Hermione growls out, her mouth full of paapri chaat. 'I'm going to fix it.'

* * *

It takes Hermione a total of six years at the Ministry to make all the pieces fit together and when her pet project goes to the vote and is passed 34 to 16 at 4:39 pm, just before a lavish Ministry Gala in the Main Atrium, she allows herself a day out with Ginny to go celebrate by watching Muggle cinema.

It is her last day at the Ministry after all.

* * *

The following morning, Hermione receives an urgent summons to the Minister of Magic's office.

She is escorted down to Level One by a pair of Aurors. As they walk, Hermione sees Ministry employees huddled along corridors in groups of twos and threes, talking in hushed voices. The air above their heads rustles with whisper of paper on paper; the lavender-coloured interdepartmental memos has quadrupled from normal and are flying lower to fit in the cramped over-head space. More than once along their journey downstairs the taller Auror in her escort is smacked in the face by a particularly low-flying one. He takes it without expression.

The Minister's Office is cavernous, and tightly packed with dozens of people. Present on either side of the seated Minister are the Head of the Ministry of Law Enforcement and the purple-robed Chief Witch of the Wizengamot, each wearing matching troubled expressions. The Head of the Ministry of Magical Creatures is standing close by. Approximately 20 other Ministry employees line the back of the Minister's office, peering over shoulders to grab a glimpse of Hermione as she walks in. Two scribes are squished into one corner beside the door, their fingers poised above magical typewriters, ready to document the meeting minutes. Every past Minister in painted portraits has their eyes fixed on Hermione.

Conspicuous most of all in the room is the stack of parchment sitting off to one side of the Minister's desk. It is the height of a small child. Hermione looks at the tower of papers with a sense of pride. She's been working on it since she was thirteen years old and the document has filled up her evenings and weekends for the last seven years, ever since she returned to Hogwarts to finish her schooling. It was crafted through careful correspondence with several Muggle barristers (using liberal application of memory charms to preserve the Statute of Secrecy), a number of magical creatures, and a few trusted witches and wizards. It is legally sound. She can recite most sections from memory.

The Minister is the first to speak.

'What exactly _did_ the Wizengamot pass yesterday evening before adjourning, Miss Granger? I haven't managed to get a straight answer out of any of my employees and members of the Wizengamot seems to be incapable of explaining even the basics of this document - an oddity given that it is their responsibility to read all submissions prior to approval.'

Hermione smiles back at him pleasantly.

'I imagine that you are referring to The Revised Magical Creatures Act of 2005?'

There is a rumbling that permeates through the crowd in the room. The Minister ignores it.

'And just what exactly is the Revised Magical Creatures Act?' he asks, leaning forward, 'I'm hearing all sorts of nonsense about House Elves in particular. What was it - section 146 on page…'

'Page 2944,' his Undersecretary whispers out of the corner of his mouth.

'...2944 of the document?'

'Section 146 ratified freedom for all family-bound house elves, effective this morning just after midnight, without exception.'

Standing beside the Minister of Magic, the Head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement looks very pale. The rest of the Ministry staff are making noises and anxious movements similar to those of a herd of antelope about to stampede.

'This would explain why I didn't receive my breakfast this morning.' The Minister mutters before looking up with a frown, 'Ms Granger -'

'Head Granger, Minister,' Hermione interrupted. 'I believe I am still the current Head of the Wizengamot Administration Office.'

' _Ms Granger_ , the house elves will not consider freedom - it was deemed to be psychologically harmful by numerous studies through St. Mungo's. They're perfectly happy as they are.'

'With all due respect, and please pardon my interruption, Minister, the last formal study on the subject was conducted in 1971 by a group of wizards and witches. No effort was made to consult with house elves to develop a plan of care for those elves who were freed against their will.'

The Minister throws up his hands. 'Where exactly are we supposed to gather a bunch of independent elves to help...what is it now...' he glances over at his Undersecretary, '...94 newly-freed elves who suddenly have no homes?'

'Fortunately the issue was anticipated,' Hermione says patiently. 'The Ministry of Magical Creatures has been informally facilitating talks with family-bound elves and the Ministry for the last four years...'

'AND JUST WHO APPROVED THAT?!'

Hermione draws a rolled piece of parchment out of her robe pocket and hand it to the nearby Undersecretary.

'It was ratified by Wizengamot vote last November - if you look at the document it details the formation of a volunteer council of 10 house elves with absolute authority over decisions pertaining to freed elves. I imagine that the Ministry did not pay much attention to it as there were no salaries to manage - I can understand why you may never have been informed about the Council's existence.'

Dorothy Boateng's impassive expression has not changed, but a close observer might glimpse her flash a brief thumbs up sign at Hermione at waist height.

'As to your concern - I know that all the freed house elves are currently in a safe location, with others of their kind. There is a plan in place for housing and support until these elves are able to stand on their own.'

Hermione does not mention that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has 94 new house elves living within its walls. The school's Headmistress has asked for discretion in return for the favour.

At his desk, the Minister appears to be at a loss for words. To his left, the Minister of Magical Law Enforcement is biting his nails. Hermione continues on, her hands clasped loosely in front of her, her expression serene.

'I should note that Section 146 also includes the stipulation that House Elves may choose to work for their former masters or anyone else they chose provided they pass a Ministry-mandated, elf-taught training course before such contracts are signed. Pages 2980 to 3470 contain the syllabus and details of final examination for the course. Details of the agreed-upon reparations for generational work-without-pay are in the section beyond that. The minimum wage and working hours for all hired elves is also listed, along with an employer code of conduct.'

'And would somebody please tell me how _exactly_ this was all passed by the Wizengamot in the first place without a peep of protest!' the Minister growls out through gritted teeth, turning to his immediate right to glare at the Chief Witch.

The Chief Witch takes a slight step backwards. She is bracing herself with one hand on the Minister's desk and looks rather ill.

Hermione smiles brightly. 'The members of the Wizengamot must not have read past the first 1700 pages of the document titled ' _Revisions to the Ancient Acts of Governance Over Non-Wizarding Species and Magical Brethren and Beings'_. One might guess that the members of the Wizengamot saw that the Act had been approved by two Ministry committees, and assumed that it was a routine vote on a benign issue, and rather than spending time discussing details of the document, rushed through the voting process so as to get to last night's Gala in time for the arrival of dinner. I believe that the Gala was a celebration of the 460th anniversary of the Wizengamot's inception.'

There is a pause before she adds, 'A particularly observant person might see this as a warning signal about the instability in the underlying structure of the Wizarding community's archaic approach to law creation and approval.'

The Minister of Magic has a hand clasped over his eyes. 'Forgive me for my lack of comprehension,' he says wearily, '- but I still don't quite understand what this means for the Ministry.'

'Which is why I also made a booklet.' Hermione says as she pulls out a ring-bound handout from her satchel. 'This is a general summary of the new legislation with corresponding pages in the original document. Of particular interest to you, Chief Witch…'

The Chief Witch jumps slightly at hearing her title. She is 105 years old, but the reaction is spry enough to mimic that of a much younger witch.

'...is that there is to be the immediate creation of five new Wizengamot seats to be filled by democratically-elected Magical Creatures previously categorized by the Ministry as 'Beings'. This booklet also goes over the general points of the newly formed Act of Automatic Welfare for those infected by Lycanthropy. A few other salient points are that Centaurs are to have full protection from loss of territory within Britain. There is a similar statute for the Merfolk and Selkies in British lakes, streams and waterways. Maps are included for both.'

Hermione continues on, summarizing 6290 pages of legal documents as succinctly as possible over the course of twenty minutes, ending with the news that the Wizengamot has approved an external investigation into the Wizengamot's structure and legal process - the end goal being to snip away outdated practices and bring the council into the 21st century with accountability and equitable treatment of all magical kind.

The news that the external investigation is to be led by Muggle barristers causes the Chief Witch to faint.

The Minister does not see the Undersecretary lower the Chief Witch to the floor - his eyes are closed, and he hasn't bothered to interrupt for the past ten minutes. He has a pounding headache. In the corner, one of the scribes has stopped typing - she is staring up at Hermione in awe.

'I've already written the form letter that will be posted in the Daily Prophet this afternoon, and the owls were sent out this morning to all families who until recently had one or more house elves working for them. A copy of this booklet will be sent to all wizards, witches and squibs in Britain and Ireland. Obviously the most important thing right now is to prevent the Ministry avoid breaking its own laws - you have a meeting arranged for this evening with the Daily Prophet and all other interested media services to so as to inform and reassure the public.'

Hermione smiles reassuringly at the assembly of Ministry workers.

'I wouldn't worry too much, Minister, I've made sure that the Ministry is well prepared for the transition. Would you like to look at the timeline I've created?'

* * *

Hermione Granger is placed on extended leave while the Department tries to figure out the newest magical regulations she'd someone managed to pass through the Wizengamot under their very noses. The Ministry is grudgingly following her timeline. The Minister has already made the general announcement about changes towards Magical Creatures in the Daily Prophet, followed by his announcement of a 'short break' from public life for the remainder of the week.

Hermione agrees to the six month leave that is offered with a minimum amount of fuss. She occupies herself by visiting with her parents and doing occasional child care for Harry and Ginny - James is a handful at 14 months and with another child on the way, the couple deserves a night out as often as possible. She also volunteers with Magical Creature groups that have begun to form throughout Britain.

One week after the Act is introduced, the Council of House Elves officially opens a fine dining establishment near to the Wizarding Wheezes location. It's managed exclusively by elves and acts as a safe and supportive location to transition newly-freed elves to cooking and cleaning in a safe environment.

An elderly witch and her husband are leaving as Hermione passes by the restaurant on her way to the Leaky Cauldron. The Chief Witch of the Wizengamot does not see Hermione walk by them, so preoccupied with speaking with her husband about their meal.

'Such excellent food - we really must come next week, Harold. But what I don't quite understand is the name - why ever do you suppose they chose the word 'Spew' for the name?'

* * *

 _No, this is not complete and yes, it is going to be Minerva/Hermione. There are probably a few mistakes - this is the creation of the last couple of days, so anticipate minor alterations._

 _Go off and thank Headmistress X. She's just started the sequel to the glorious piece of fiction that is_ Ancient Magic _, which should be required reading in the MMHG fandom, and the new story_ Another Story Entirely _is a very important twin to it that you will not regret reading._

 _\- owlofathena_


End file.
